


Finding The One For You

by sweatpantz



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Gay, Gay Aliens, Gay Panic, Getting Together, LMAO, M/M, Swearing, space gay bars, wingman lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-14 15:23:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8019178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweatpantz/pseuds/sweatpantz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I don't want to give much away but there's gay bars in space. Lance and Keith go to gay bars in space. Lance tries to wingman. It doesn't end how either of them expect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Never have I ever… spent an entire day watching anime.” Hunk said teasingly, smirking at Lance.

 

Lance put down a finger. “Don’t judge my lifestyle bro.” He grinned, noticing Pidge and Shiro trying to sneak their fingers down without anyone noticing. “Ooh Pidge! Doesn't surprise me honestly. But Shiro! I knew you had to have a fatal flaw.”

 

“Lance! I- whatever, it was just once!” Shiro laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “C’mon. It was a rainy day and it was my favorite show. Anyways, it’s your turn Lance.”

 

Lance’s grin turned feral and he tapped his fingers together like a villain as he thought about who he would target next. He looked around the small circle of paladins on the floor, making exaggerated noises of contemplation until his eyes caught a bespectacled brunette. _Pidge_ , he thought. Somehow she had managed to win every round and Lance was ready to be the one to ruin her streak. He locked eyes with her. “Never have I ever kissed a boy.”

 

Pidge smirked, continuing to hold her 8 remaining fingers up proudly.

 

“What!?” Lance screeched. “Don’t tell me you never got _any_ action at the Garrison-“

 

Pidge giggled. “Lance, at the Garrision everyone thought that I was a boy-“

 

Lance stopped listening when he caught Keith sneaking a finger down out of the corner of his eye. “Woah there Keithmeister. Kissing your dad’s cheek doesn’t count, dweeb. Get that finger back up.”

 

Keith’s neutral expression quickly turned flustered and agitated. “Lance, why do you have to be such a dick?” He snapped, making the other paladins jump at his sudden change in mood. He made to stand up but Lance grabbed his hand and pulled him back down.

 

Lance was confused as to what he’d done to bring out a reaction like that in Keith. “Keith buddy, wait! I didn’t- didn't mean to offend you? What’s going on?”

 

Keith’s face scrunched up and he crossed his arms tightly. “I kissed my boyfriend you asshole!” He shouted, looking down at his lap.  His fringe fell in front of his reddening face as the whole circle of paladins went silent.

 

Lance really did feel like an asshole. He should have at least considered the possibility. “Oh. Shit.”

 

“Yeah.” Keith blindly shot his fist out to the side to punch Lance’s arm, still looking at his own lap. “Can we quit playing this stupid game now?”

 

Shiro, sitting on Keith’s opposite side, put a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “You know you could’ve told us earlier Keith, right? It all good here.” Pidge and Hunk nodded in agreement, giving Keith honest smiles.

 

Keith shrugged and fiddled with his gloves. “I know I just- what was I supposed to do, randomly bring it up? ‘Oh hey guy, its me! Keith! The gay red paladin of Voltron!” He jeered in mock enthusiasm.

 

Lance chimed in. “That’s what I would do!” Lance leaned closer to Keith, staring at him with wide eyes. “So Keith, you’re actually…gay? For boys?” He asked, shock still evident in his tone.

 

The rest of the paladins rolled their eyes. _Of course_ Lance would be the slowest to fully register.

 

Keith sighed. “Jesus- yes Lance. I’m gay. Feel free to start distancing yourself from me in the showers.”

 

Lance just grinned. “Nah I’m good. I’m comfortable with myself. I’ll take it as a compliment if you ever wanna stare at my amazing ass.”

 

“Oh my god I’m leaving.” Keith pushed himself onto his feet. The other paladins did the same, rising up a chorus of annoyance at Lance.

 

“Uh. Yep.” Shiro made a face, walking out of the room.

 

Hunk gave Lance a disapproving look. “Lance could you not- yeah definitely leaving.” He followed after Shiro.

 

“Way to ruin a moment Lance.” Pidge muttered, waltzing off.

 

The paladins all went their separate ways, but Lance followed Keith. “Sooo! Keith!” He cooed, catching up to the other boy and throwing an arm around his shoulders. Keith eyed him warily and he started rattling off questions. “So when did you have this boyfriend? Do you still have a boyfriend? How many boys have you kissed? What was your boyfriend’s name? What’s is it like kissing boys? Did you kiss your boyfriend a lot or was it like a one time thing? Do you-“

 

“Lance!” Keith threw Lance’s arm off of him. “What the hell? Are you mocking me?”

 

Lance’s mouth flapped uselessly for a moment and he brought his hands out in front of him in apology. “No! Keith, no. Sorry I just- I’m curious. I’m not good at talking to you because you’re sort of my rival. And then yeah I’ve just never had a gay friend before.”

 

Keith scratched his head, letting out a chuckle. “So you’re still sticking with the rival thing, huh? Rivals and friends?” He shook his head. “Anyways, if you really need to, you can ask me stuff another time. I’m kind of tired, not really in the mood for a gay debriefing right now.”

 

Lance blinked, nodding. “Yeah, sorry. I just- it can’t be easy.“ He shuffled on his feet. “Like how do you…get action when you’re gay? You have to find out where they are…”

 

Get action? Keith squinted at Lance. “Where who are?”

 

“The gays.”

 

Keith covered his face in his palm. “Oh my god Lance.”

 

Lance grinned, seeming to have found his comfort zone again. “So anyways, now I’m thinking I should be your wingman! My thing is girls or whatever, but I think I could figure out how to be a gayman wingman pretty quick!” He babbled on happily. “It wouldn’t be too different, there’s gotta be like, some cool space gay bars or something around! And with me by your side, we’ll score you a smoking hot dude in no time! Because let’s face it- I’m the ultimate wingman.”

 

Keith smiled a little. Most people tolerated him being gay but they didn’t usually try to sympathize and help him out. Keith hadn’t even thought about dating though since they had left earth. It was something he wanted eventually, but he didn’t want to inhibit the team by slacking off in his training or wasting anyone’s time. “I don’t know Lance...”

 

Lance shoved him playfully. “C’mon Keith, you’re at your prime! In your youth! Show off that mullet before you get old and look like an 80’s country singer! Besides, even if we don’t find you a guy, it could just be some good bonding time amongst two paladins. Get us a little more friendlier, a little less rival-ish.“ Lance watched Keith hopefully.

 

Keith kept smiling, now looking at his shoes. “Maybe.” He said quietly.

 

Lance beamed. “Yes! I’m gonna ask Allura about it! Who knows? What if gay bars are wicked popular in space?” He laughed excitedly, patting Keith on the shoulder before running off.

 

Keith felt warm as he walked back to his room. Sometimes he really was thankful for Lance. Sure, he teased a lot, sometimes went a bit too far… but most times, at the end of the day, he made Keith feel like he belonged somewhere.  

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

As it turned out gay bars  _ were _ popular in space; many different species of humanoids had less rigid genders and gender roles than earth humans. After the paladins’ latest mission, they were stuck on a planet called Tukzhan while Allura and Coran did some ship repairs. Lance had decided this was the perfect opportunity to get practice ‘wingmanning’. He’d showed up in Keith’s room eager to leave and find a bar, but there was apparently a problem.

“You’re not wearing that.” Lance remarked.

Keith frowned, looking down at his black t-shirt. “Why not? This is what I wear all the time.”

“Exactly!” Lance groaned. “You gotta wear something fancy! Make yourself look presentable! Make people forget you have a ridiculous mullet!”

Keith rolled his eyes and glared at the taller boy. “I seriously only have plain t-shirts, Lance.”

“True.” Lance said slowly, squinting his eyes and looking Keith over. “Hmm, what can we do with you then.” He stepped towards Keith and stuck a hand in his hair, pushing his fringe backwards. “Maybe we can do something with this.”

Keith’s cheeks heated up. “Lance! what the hell!” He took a step back but Lance just followed, parting Keith’s dark hair more to the side and tucking some of it behind his ears. 

“There.” Lance smiled to himself while Keith debated swatting him away. “God I’m a miracle worker. I actually made your mullet look handsome. Now let’s go find you some nice boys!” Lance cheered, spinning around and waltzing out the door.

Keith pulled out his knife to quickly check his reflection, finding that his cheeks looked a little too red and his hair looked a little too.. much. His eyebrows furrowed and he put his knife away, jogging out of his room to catch up with Lance.

 

 

Keith felt quite self-conscious when they walked into the bar.  It had been a long time since he’d even thought about other boys looking at him and there he was, offering himself to be judged by a room full of dating prospects. Keith tugged at his shirt nervously, brushing his hand through his hair. He hoped he looked... appealing? What if no one liked him? Would Lance make fun of him? He nearly regretted letting Lance pull him into this, but the other boy was just grinning over at him, leading Keith to sit at a stool by the front of the bar.  

“Alright Keith, let’s scope out the joint. See if there’s anyone  worth our time here.” Lance spoke like it would be a challenge, even though there were plenty of decent looking guys around. Keith smiled a little, thinking maybe he could learn something from Lance's engorged self-esteem. 

Lance leaned against the counter and confidently ordered them some food. Keith took a breath and squared his shoulders. Lance's aura made Keith feel a little more like he was the one in control, instead of like he was some helpless dog at the pound begging to get taken home. He could choose who he wanted to go for, he might as well look around. 

“I think that guy in the crop top over there is sort of… cute.” Keith said quietly, fidgeting with his fingers.

Lance seemed fascinated. “Really? Ooh where? This is so interesting.” Lance moved around, trying to get a good view of the guy and Keith stared down at the tabletop in humiliation.

“Lance, don’t make it so obvious!” Keith  whined.

Lance didn’t seem to care, he just turned back to Keith with a satisfied look. “Tell me who else you think is hot. I love learning people’s tastes. Like what’s your type man? Tall? Short? Are you an ass man or a… a pecs man? An abs man? Is that a thing?”

Keith cocked a brow at him for a moment then snickered. “Jesus Lance. I’m not picky I’m just uh. I guess I like pretty eyes and…um…” He stared at Lance, thinking for a minute. “Someone who can make me laugh.”

Lance gave him a blank stare. “Keith, that’s what everyone says. I want specifics, I want-“.

A deep, scratchy voice interrupted him. “Excuse me.” A muscular man with dark hair and olive green skin stood behind them. He had a thick hoop earring and something about his face reminded Lance of a bull. “I’d like to talk to this pretty little exotic.” He wedged himself between Keith and Lance’s stools, turning towards Keith.    
  
Keith frowned. Exotic?    
  
“Hey there pretty boy. My name is Xenthe. I haven’t ever seen a species like you. Where are you from?”

“Uh. Hi. Um, earth.” Keith managed to answer, more concentrated on trying to gain some personal space back as the man continued to inch closer and closer.

“Hm. Never heard of that.” The man paused for a moment, looking at Keith expectantly. “Not much of a talker are we?” He leaned in close to Keith’s ear. “That’s alright, I know some things to do lots more fun than talking-“. He purred, laying a hand on Keith’s thigh. Keith’s face turned red in anger and embarrassment but he was frozen. He wanted to yell or punch the guy in the face but he’d never been touched unwarranted like this and his brain was short circuiting.

Lance’s voice came out rough beside them. “Buddy, don’t you think you’re coming on a little strong.”

Xenthe released Keith’s thigh, turning back to Lance with a glare, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “I thought I was doing just fine. My little exotic wasn’t complaining any. I’d prefer if you didn’t interrupt us.”

When Xenthe had turned away Keith thankfully found he could move again. “Leave us alone.” He spoke calmly and clearly through his anger, crossing his arms stiffly. “I’m not interested.”

Xenthe scoffed. “Oh now he’s all offended.” He backed up, glaring at Keith and then Lance again before huffing and walking out of the bar.

Lance frowned, moving their stools close together again and putting a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “You okay buddy? That was kinda… creepy, huh? Sorry, I didn’t want your first wingman Lance experience to be like that.”

Keith nodded. “I’m alright.” He chuckled a little, leaning into Lance’s hand. “Thanks for uh- helping me out a little there. I didn’t really know what to do.”

Lance smiled. “No problem bro. Whatdya say we just hang out for the rest of the evening? Take it easy? Drinks on me.”

Keith nodded, feeling warmth spread through his chest even after Lance dropped his hand from his shoulder. “That actually sounds pretty nice.”


	3. Chapter 3

The next bar they went to was bigger, and Keith and Lance spent a good chunk of the night there. They talked to a few nice guys who were there just to hang out, they politely turned away a few guys Keith wasn’t interested in, and they were about to leave when another guy sat down next to them. He was quite tall and his skin was almost a human color, but a shade too pink and he had darker stripes around his forearms. His eyes were round, ears pointy, and his hair was long enough to curl on his shoulders. Lance decided they should be introduced. “Hey there buddy! Have you met my friend Keith? He’s on the market and he’s totally sweet.” He grinned, shooting the guy finger guns and wrapping an arm around Keith as if to showcase his product.

Keith groaned in embarrassment at Lance’s introduction. He wondered if this ever really worked for anyone. He gave the stranger a halfhearted wave and a hesitant smile, gripping the back of Lance’s jacket from nerves.

The stranger looked over Keith and raised an eyebrow. “What’s so great about him?”

Lance looked scandalized. “Well! I’m- I’m glad you asked sir!” His tone was turning defensive. “He’s.. uhm. He’s funny and nice and he’s- he’s very attractive, look at his eyes! Do you ever see eyes like this? They’re so pretty, they’re kinda purple!”. Keith blinked over at Lance, surprised by the barrage of compliments from someone he’d thought only paid attention to him while he was annoying him.

The stranger deadpanned. “I dunno. His ears are kinda weird. Hair is kinda weird, clothes are kinda weird.” Keith’s stomach dropped a little and he fiddled with his gloves. This was what he’d feared in the first place. He knew that of course that not everyone was going to like him, but he couldn’t help but feel a little down when people picked at his appearance like that.

Lance’s lip curled up and his fists balled. “Don’t talk about him like that! Keith is awesome! What is with aliens and your obsession with ears anyways! _You’re_ weird!”

“If you think he’s so perfect why don’t you go out with him? You can both be weird and ugly together.”

Lance huffed angrily, tugging on Keith’s jacket sleeve. “Let’s get out of here Keith, we don’t need-“ He turned his voice back in the stranger’s direction. “MEAN NERDS cramping our style!”

That brought a chuckle out of Keith and he hid it behind his hand, letting Lance pull him along. Somehow the darker skinned boy could always naturally make him forget about his self-consciousness. Lance grumbled as he pulled Keith out of the bar. “Stupid pink alien and his stupid pink face and dumb dumb hair.” Keith let Lance make a fuss to himself, smiling fondly as they walked down the street, heading back to the ship.

 

 

 

The next guy they run into at a bar ends up giving Lance a bit of a shock. He was a little short, he had an undercut, wore a crop top, and he was very polite. Lance was having a good chat with him while Keith was in the bathroom. Lance was talking up his friend the best he could to this guy since he seemed really nice. “Yeah Keith, man, you gotta meet him! He’s super great, he’ll be back out here in a second.” Lance smiled down at his drink. “He’s really good looking and he’s so strong.” Lance had become quite comfortable with talking up all the good things about Keith at this point and it felt natural and he just let himself babble on. “You should see him fighting, we do this training thing or whatever and sometimes the way he moves is- I can’t take my eyes off him you know? It’s really cool.”

 

The other man smiled at Lance. “He sure sounds like something else, this Keith. And what was your name?” He reached out a hand to shake Lance’s.

 

This guy was just so nice! Lance grinned wider and shook his hand. “The name’s Lance, and you?”

 

“Randy.” The man answered with a polite nod, letting his hand linger a few seconds after their handshake.

 

“Cool.” Lance nodded. “But yeah Keith. He’s- hes so great. I was always jealous of him because he was so cool? And now I’m just realizing like, why be jealous when you can just…appreciate? You know? Feels so much better.”

 

Randy nodded in agreement. “I know what you mean. A few of my boyfriends actually started off as my rivals too.” He chuckled. Lance’s brows furrowed a little. That wasn’t exactly the comparison he was trying to make but okay. Lance was about to correct him but he went on. “Actually um-“ Randy tugged shyly at his hair, curling one of the longer strands at the front around his finger. “Don’t take this wrong, it’s just a suggestion.” He was blushing “I know not everyone is into this but maybe… I’d be up for um… being with you and your boyfriend tonight. You’re sure talking him up plenty I just kind of got the feeling you wanted me to like you both. And I do! You both seem really cool-“.

 

Lance’s eyes blew up like saucers. Boyfriend? Being with them? Randy wasn’t the first to mistake them as boyfriends, but Lance thought this sounded like a whole different ball park. And that’s when Keith decided to come back from the bathroom. “Hi.” He smiled at Lance and Randy. “Who is this?”

 

Lance sputtered. “This- um, uh, this is Randy. He ah-“

 

Randy reached a hand out to shake Keith’s. “So you must be Keith. Lance has been telling me all about you, he’s very sweet.” Keith raised an eyebrow at Lance. “I was just asking Lance if uh- you guys would like to-“

 

Lance interrupted him, standing abruptly from his stool. “Um sorry Randy we have to go! I’m- We’re super flattered by your offer but you know um!” Lance was obviously quite flustered, cheeks bright red and talking the speed of light. Keith wondered what had gotten into him and why he was blowing off this nice guy.

 

Randy just nodded in understanding. “It’s alright Lance. I get it. I guess it was kind of a long shot, most species think three’s a crowd.”

 

Lance nodded, rambling on. “Yeah. Thanks dude. Really. Honestly you’re super chill and thanks for that- I hope you um. Find what you’re looking for tonight?” Lance squeaked and shook the guy's hand again before bolting from the bar with Keith in tow.

 

“What the hell was that? Three’s a crowd? An offer? Why did we run out of there so quick?” Keith asked as they hopped into Blue to get back to the castle. “What was he talking about?” Lance was glad Keith couldn’t read in between the lines in that moment because he didn’t know how he wanted to explain what just happened or if he wanted to explain at all.

 

“Um nothing just his uh, roommates or something- I don't know. I got a stomach ache, and a headache.”

 

Keith seemed disbelieving but didn’t push it. “If your head hurts should I try to pilot Blue just back to the castle?”

 

“Nope! Its fine!” Lance’s cheeks were turning red again.

 

 “Right... you’re weird Lance.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Imani And Me**

 

 

Lance was in the corner of the bar, watching Keith and the latest guy they’d run into. Lance had good feelings about this one- his name was Imani. He, Lance and Keith had really hit it off and Lance had made an excuse to leave them alone for a little while. Imani had dark skin and a ponytail, he was a little taller too; something Lance had figured out Keith liked in a guy. Lance heard bits of their conversation as he sipped on his girly drink. It was strange to hear Keith flirt.

 

“So where are you from again?” Imani asked.

 

“Oh.” Keith shrugged, and his body language was different than Lance had ever seen him. He was leaning close to the table between him and Imani and his hands were tucked shyly in his lap. “You’ve probably never heard of it, it’s really far away. It’s called Earth.” He smiled. Lance noted how soft his expression was and it was… weird.

 

“Oh interesting!” Imani chuckled. “You’re right, I haven’t- but I’d love to visit there someday if everyone from earth is even half as pretty as you.” He winked and Keith giggled. _Damn_ , Lance thought. That was a really good line. And since when did Keith _giggle_? Lance felt something strange, like an achey tugging in his chest. This wasn’t usually what it felt like when Lance was wingmanning successfully. Something was very off.

 

Lance watched as Imani pulled his chair in closer and he and Keith were looking each other right in the eyes. They smiled in a way that made Lance feel like he should look away. But he needed to keep watching; Keith was blushing deep, his cheeks looked so warm and his expression was so open. Keith kept laughing at stuff Imani said and Lance somehow found himself sulking. Imani couldn’t have been _that_ funny. That was Lance’s thing, Lance was funny! Lance could make Keith laugh and smile and probably even blush like that- if he _wanted_ to! Imani being so sweet on Keith was starting to piss Lance off for some reason. Well maybe it was because he didn’t even know Keith! He didn’t know how annoying Keith was when he woke you up early from your beauty sleep to train. He didn’t know how stupid it was that Keith carried fingerless gloves and a knife _literally everywhere_. He didn’t know what it was like to watch stupid Keith brush his dumb hair the wrong way or put his shirt on backwards because he was running low on sleep. He didn’t know how terrifying it was to watch Keith go racing into battle like a maniac. He didn’t know how much it hurt to not be able to hold Keith back and keep him safe-

 

Lance watched dark hands reach across the table to start playing with one of Keith’s and there was a hard pang in Lance’s chest that said NOPE. He felt like he was barely in control of his body but all of a sudden he was on his feet, and then dragging Keith out of the bar. Imani watched in confusion and Keith shouted that they’d be back, trying to wrestle away from Lance. “No we won’t!” Lance found himself yelling behind them.

 

Lance hadn’t said a word and he was trying to drag Keith all the way back to their lions but Keith pushed him away. “What the fuck Lance?? What are you doing? I was actually having a really good time, and you pull me out? What the hell is your problem?”

 

Lance barely knew why he did what he did so he just got defensive. “I don’t know Keith, what’s _your_ problem!? What the hell was that?”

 

Keith looked like he wanted to kick Lance where it counts. “Um, I was trying to get to know a nice guy, like the whole reason we’ve been going to bars for the last few weeks, dumbass! Can I go back and get his number at least?”

 

That feeling reared up in Lance’s chest again and he growled. “No.”

 

“No?” Keith spat, gripping the front of Lance’s shirt and tugging him close in anger. “What are you, my mother? I can do whatever the fuck I want!”

 

Lance seemed to snap out of it then, he just stared at Keith for a moment before sighing and taking a step back. “Fuck. I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling. A really weird feeling. You’re right Keith.” He felt tears prickling at the corners of his eyes and that was really weird. “Sorry, I don’t know. Maybe I’m sick, something’s wrong with me. I’m… I’m going back to Blue. Do what you like Keith. Go um. Go have fun.”

 

Lance walked away, leaving Keith confused and conflicted.

 

 

That night Lance was laying in his bed, brushing away tears he didn't understand and it pissed him off. He just couldn’t stop thinking about Keith, all sorts of emotions were welling up in him and this kind of stress was so not good for his complexion. 

 

Lance wondered why he did what he did. Keith was obviously having a nice… date or whatever with that guy. Why did he have to go and ruin it? Maybe because… that guy wasn’t good enough? Yeah, maybe that was it! Keith deserved someone that was everything he liked. He deserved someone tall, dark and handsome. Okay so Imani was all those things, but so was Lance and that didn’t mean Keith was gonna date Lance! Keith deserved someone who could make him laugh. Okay so like Imani… but also like Lance! Lance smugly thought of all the times he’d made Keith laugh during their bar escapades. Keith deserved someone who was… good at kissing? Lance didn’t know what kind of kisser Imani was but Lance thought himself to be pretty good-

 

Lance’s imagination fed him images of he and Keith kissing and his stomach dropped. His heart hammered against his ribcage. He let himself just lay there for a second and watch them in his mind, kissing slow and steady. That was when it finally clicked for Lance. “Oh.” He muttered out loud to himself. He really wanted to kiss Keith. “Shit.” Sure, Keith was a guy but that seemed like a minor detail now compared to the backflips his heart was doing. Seeing all the cute male couples at the bars he’d actually been thinking he’d be willing to try a relationship like that. He laughed to himself- all this time trying to find Keith the perfect boyfriend when he was right there the whole time? They both just had to realize it! Lance started to formulate a plan.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if there's mistakes in this! I made some changes that haven't been beta'd. But this has been sitting on my computer for so long I just want to start posting it now. Speaking of beta's! If anyone wants to help me with the last chapter I need some opinions, theres stuff I might change and I'd really like some feedback on it.


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